Sebastian Quorum Court To Tour Juvenile Jail Classroom Project

The Sebastian County Quorum Court will tour a classroom-construction project at the Juvenile Detention Center before its regular meeting Tuesday.

According to a memo from County Judge David Hudson, the county undertook the project to comply with recent changes to state education regulations, which require separate classrooms for juvenile males and females, males and females in “families in need of services,” and 18- to 21-year-olds being held as juveniles.

“This creates the need for four to five classrooms,” Hudson wrote. “The facility currently operates with two to four, as the existing pods serve as classrooms.”

With the county as the contractor, some work is subcontracted while courthouse maintenance staff are performing the remodeling work. The budget is $376,548, considerably lower than the $580,000 that was estimated for a turnkey project.

The tour takes place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, when Quorum Court members will meet in front of the former Butler & Cook building, 200 S. Ninth St.

The regular meeting is 7 p.m. in Room 204 of the Fort Smith Courthouse, 35 S. Sixth St.

The agenda includes:

• A status update of various county projects.

• An analysis of recently opened bids to upgrade the Greenwood Courthouse HVAC system and replace the roof, and a discussion of asbestos issues.

• A proposal to contract out for a $14,560 project to remodel an office at the Greenwood Courthouse because courthouse maintenance staff are involved in the Juvenile Detention Center classroom project.

• A letter by the Regional Intermodal Transportation Authority asking Sebastian County as well as RITA’s three other governmental members — Crawford County, Fort Smith and Van Buren — to contribute $50,000 each instead of $25,000 to operations in 2013.